As cricket enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the T20 World Cup 2024, one question looms large: what happens if rain interrupts a match? With the unpredictable weather conditions in some host countries, understanding the protocols for rain delays becomes crucial. Let's delve into the minimum over requirements, extra time allowances, and point allocations in case of rain delays.
Here are the T20 World Cup rules for when the rains come.
What are the minimum overs needed for a result in an T20 World Cup match?
In a rain-affected match, the team batting second must face a minimum of five overs for a result to be possible.
When the innings of the team batting second is reduced to the extent that it cannot last for the same number of overs as the team that batted first, DLS comes into play.
Get the latest sports betting odds here!
What is DLS?
Cricket went through variations of unsatisfactory and sometimes controversial rain rules — namely the Average Run Rate method and Most Productive Over method — before the ICC adopted the Duckworth-Lewis method in 1999.
It was formulated by English statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis. After their retirements, professor Steven Stern became the custodian of the method and it was renamed in 2014.
DLS weighs the resources available to each side when calculating a revised target for the team batting second. Namely, these resources are overs remaining and wickets in hand.
Instead of simply adjusting the target proportionately to overs lost, DLS considers how many wickets a team has in hand and the overs remaining. For example, a team that is 72/0 after eight overs is likely to score more runs than a team that is 80/4 at the same stage because having wickets in hand should allow more aggressive batting later in the innings.
The DLS par score is adjusted as a reduced innings progresses, with runs scored and wickets lost determining where a team is in relation to the par score. In the event of a World Cup game finishing after five overs of the second innings but before the full allocation of overs are completed, whether or not the team batting second are ahead or behind the DLS par will determine the result.
More: Who will make the T20 World Cup semi-finals? Cricket experts pick their top 4
What happens if there is a 'no result' finish in a World Cup match?
If the team batting second cannot face five overs, then the game will be a "no result". In the group stage, this will mean each team involved in the game takes a point each. Should rain hit a knockout game then the situation gets a little more complicated.
Who will qualify for the final if a knockout game is rained off?
To accommodate any delays due to weather conditions or other interruptions, an additional time of 190 minutes will be allotted, in addition to the reserve day, for semifinal 1 and the final matches. This ensures that the matches can be completed without compromising on the tournament schedule.
As for semifinal 2, only an additional time of 250 minutes is available, without any reserve day.
For knockout games, a minimum of 10 overs will have to be bowled in the second innings for the match to be completed.
If a semifinal ends in a tie, the teams will engage in a super over to decide the advancing team to the final. In the event of a tie and weather conditions hinder the completion of the super over, or if the match is abandoned or declared a no result, then the team that topped its second round group will proceed to the final.
